


She's Coming Out

by Emily_F6



Series: Penny Parker Prompts [31]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Gen, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26160313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: Prompt: Penny comes out to Tony
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Penny Parker Prompts [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899553
Comments: 7
Kudos: 241





	She's Coming Out

Tony drummed his fingers on the table, glancing around the candle-lit room as he waited for Pepper to return from the bathroom, which she’d left for almost ten minutes ago. He was almost ready to text her and ask if she’d fallen in, a joke he wasn’t sure she’d appreciate but that he still found funny. They’d already ordered, and the waitress had brought their steaks out right after Pepper had disappeared, and Tony was wondering if he was allowed to start eating. Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages to have something to do. Other than a few emails he’d need to deal with for SI, nothing. It was a Sunday, and Pepper had forbade him from working, especially on date night, so he put his phone back on the table, scanning the restaurant for his fiancee.

It took another two minutes, but soon, Pepper was hurrying through the tables, eyes wide as she slid into her chair. But instead of staring on her food, she leaned in, looking torn between excitement and surprise. “Tony, go to the bathroom. Third table from the window.”

He blinked, looking around once more, then narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Third table from the window. Bathroom. Go,” she hissed, jerking her head toward the direction she’d just come from.

“Pep…”

“Go, hurry!”

Tony sighed but nodded, pushing himself to his feet and and heading in the direction of his bathroom, his mind still on the steak he’d been looking forward to. For their weekly date night, Pepper had chosen a local restaurant that wasn’t exactly as fancy as he was used to, but it was one of her favorites, so he’d agreed. Honestly, he would have been fine with ordering Chinese and watching a movie at the tower, but he knew that she got sick of date nights in, so the local restaurant it was. 

Shaking that thought away, Tony looked around the restaurant, trying to figure out what Pepper had been trying to get him to see. No one was paying him much attention, which was nice…no reporters or diners grabbing their phones to take a video of him walking to the bathroom. Still, he wasn’t exactly sure what Pepper had been getting at. Sighing and about to head back to the table, he faltered when he caught sight of a familiar face.

Sitting at the third table from the window, face awash in candlelight, was Penny Parker. She had curled her hair, and it was pinned back away from her face. Instead of her usual jeans and t-shirt, the girl wore a black dress and a pair of heels that were tucked under her chair. He hesitated, looking around to make sure no one had noticed him, then tried to get a look at the person sitting across from her. It wasn’t her aunt…no…the person across from her was a girl with curly hair and dark skin, a yellow blouse and slacks making up an outfit not quite as fancy as Penny’s, but close. The girls were smiling, leaning in close to one another, and their hands were clasped on top of the table.

Penny was on a date.

Tony started to turn away, forcing himself to complete the motion when Penny glanced up, her eyes meeting his. But he couldn’t just walk away…that would be rude. So, with a sigh to himself, he headed for her table.

He’d just seen her the week before for lab day, and the girl hadn’t mentioned a date. Not that she was obligated to…despite the fact that they’d gotten closer over the last year, he didn’t know if they were quite at that level. She came over once a month to work in his lab with him, and he saw her whenever she needed suit upgrades or, less often, whenever she was hurt badly enough to need his help. But they didn’t talk all that much about their personal lives. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised to find her on a date…she was sixteen, after all. 

The other girl had turned to look at him, one eyebrow lifted, not seeming all that surprised to see him, but Penny looked sick. He almost stopped…almost went back to his table, but he’d already made it to their table, so he tried not to take it personally that Penny looked terrified of him. “Hey, Pen. Come here often?” he asked, trying to keep his voice light.

“Mr. Stark…” Penny’s voice was hoarse, and he couldn’t help but notice how quickly she pulled her hand away from the other girl’s. “I…I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Yeah? It’s date night, and Pepper picked the restaurant. Hi,” he turned to the other girl, holding out a hand. “I’m Tony. Penny interns for my company,” he introduced himself. The girl just nodded, shaking his hand calmly.

“I’m Michelle. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” He turned back to Penny with a smile, trying to put her at ease, but she looked on the verge of tears, hands clasped in her lap. “I’ll let you get back to your dinner, kiddo. It was good to see you.”

Penny just nodded, and he turned, shrugging a little to himself and trying not to feel concerned. He was on a date. Penny was fine. Her personal life was none of his business. He didn’t have to worry about her. It was a date. It was fine. She was sixteen. So he sat back down and nodded when Pepper asked if he’d seen her and agreed that she looked very pretty and informed his fiancee that the other girl’s name was Michelle. No, he didn’t know Michelle. No, Penny hadn’t talked to him about a date. And then he tried to focus on his dinner and on making conversation. But he couldn’t get Penny out of his mind…couldn’t get over how afraid she’d looked. How terrified she’d been to see him. And no, they didn’t often talk about personal things beyond how her day had been, but surely seeing him in public wasn’t the worst thing ever. Like…he wasn’t her father. He wasn’t going to tell her she couldn’t go on a date. 

Or…did she think he would have a problem with her dating a girl? The thought surprised him, and he sat his fork down. Did she think he was homophobic? Was she worried that he’d say something to her about it? 

“Tony?” Pepper asked, leaning in. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…um…nothing. Sorry,” he told her, picking up his fork again. Whatever it had been, he’d have to think about it later. Maybe the next time she was over at the tower. 

As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait that long.

As they made their way out to the car, Pepper holding onto his arm, they both paused when they found Penny waiting by their car, arms crossed, eyes trained on the ground. As they got closer, Pepper took a step away from Tony, reaching out to her and resting a hand on her arm, and that’s when Tony noticed the tear dripping down her cheek. 

“Honey? Are you alright?” Pepper asked, gripping her arm and leaning in. Acting on instinct, Tony shrugged his jacket off, wrapping it around the girl’s shoulders and looked around for Michelle, not seeing her anywhere. 

“Yeah…I’m fine,” Penny whispered. 

“Do you need a ride?” his fiancee asked, looking helplessly at Tony who shrugged.

“Um….no, no that’s okay. Um…Mr. Stark?”

“What’s up, kiddo?” 

“Can…um…can I talk to you?”

“Of course.” He turned to Pepper but the woman had already taken a step back.

“I’m going to step inside that store,” Pepper told them, squeezing Penny’s shoulder and giving Tony a brief smile as she stepped away. “I wanted to get a better look at that bag…”

As soon as Pepper was gone, Tony swallowed back his own awkwardness and watched Penny pull his jacket more tightly around her shoulders. “What’s going on, Pen? What’s wrong? Where’s Michelle?”

“She went home.”

“Did something happen?”

Penny shook her head, swallowing hard and wiping quickly at her face. He went along with it, pretending he hadn’t seen her crying. “Please…please don’t tell May.”

That took him aback, and he narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Please don’t tell her. Please, Mr. Stark.”

“Tell her…”

“That I was…that I’m…”

“That you…were on a date with a girl?” Tony finished gently, feeling his heart sink. She nodded. “So…May doesn’t know?” Penny shook her head again. “Do you think she would be upset?” he asked, making his voice soft as he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder over the jacket. She shifted, not lifting her eyes from the ground. 

“I…I told Ben. Before…before everything. I mean…I told him that I was…that I liked girls…and that I liked guys too. And…” Her cheeks flushed, but she kept going, voice hoarse and full of tears she seemed on the brink of shedding. “He told me that, um…that it wasn’t right. And…and he said that he wanted me to go to therapy and…” Tony felt his heart break as another tear finally escaped. “He was such a good uncle. He really was. And he raised me and I owed him everything and…and after a few weeks I told him that it was just a phase and that he was right.”

“Pen…”

“And May, she’s Catholic and she…what if she…” Penny’s voice finally broke and she pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes shut. Tony moved forward then, no longer able to just watch this girl break down, and, trying not to think about that evening in the car where he’d pushed her away, he wrapped his arms around her, and she hid her face in his shoulder, her whole body shaking as she cried. “What if she hates me? I don’t want her to hate me!”

“Oh, kiddo,” he murmured, holding her close and rubbing her back. “I don’t think May could ever hate you.” He hoped not. He prayed that May Parker wouldn’t hate this girl…not for this. Surely May wouldn’t disown her kid. “I’m sorry he said that to you.”

“He loved me,” Penny whispered, clutching him as if for dear life. “He did! And he was a good uncle.”

“I believe you. I’m sure he loved you,” Tony told her, trying not to feel angry at her dead uncle. Trying not to compare his words with his own father’s. “But he was wrong.” Pulling away just a little, he reached out and ran a thumb over her cheek, wiping away her tears. They were there now. They had to be. The kid needed him and she was…well, she was important to him. He cared about her. A lot. So he would do his best. “He was wrong, Penny. It’s not wrong. Nothing about you is wrong or broken, and you don’t need therapy. Well…not for that. You might need to talk to someone about being a teenage vigilante but…” he trailed off with a shrug, smiling when Penny did. “You know, my dad said the same thing.” Her eyes widened. “Well, your uncle put it a lot nicer than my father did. But still. Same principle. He told me that I’d better not ever embarrass him in that way, or he’d make me regret it. So I didn’t.” Tony shrugged, finding that he was fine with sharing this with her. That the awkwardness had melted away, and Penny…she was important to him. So important. And he’d comfort her however he could. “And that was wrong. It was wrong of him, and it was wrong of your uncle.”

“He loved me,” Penny whispered, and Tony nodded.

“I know he did. I believe you. But he was still wrong about that. And I’m not saying you have to tell May, but I do know that she loves you more than anything. I don’t think she could ever hate you, Pen.”

Penny sniffed, nodding but not looking quite convinced, so he put his arms around her again, letting her lean on him and holding her close. “Where does she think you are?”

“At Ned’s. He agreed to cover for me.”

“Why don’t you come to the tower? We can get some work done in the lab tomorrow. What do you think?”

Penny hesitated. “But…what about date night?”

“Pepper won’t mind. I promise. And neither do I. We’ve got plenty of movies, and Pepper made brownies this morning.” 

She was quiet for a moment. Then, “would it really be okay?”

Tony nodded. “Of course it will. I’ll call your aunt…tell her I called you and asked you to come in for the internship.” 

Penny squeezed him, harder than before, and he patted her back, smiling as he coughed a little. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Anytime, kiddo,” he murmured, surprised to realize that he meant it. Anything for his kid. Anytime. 


End file.
